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Hugh Macabre

@hughmacabre.bsky.social
2.2K followers 758 following 1.3K posts

Fulltime academic (TU Dublin, media/technology). Sometime musician (M Stevens & The Ghasts, learning jazz, gimme indie rock). Oddtime artist (weird and not-so-weird photography). It seems I now have a PhD.

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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Highlights of my cycle today. Car exiting hospital on the wrong side of the road to avoid waiting for the barrier. Car pausing at a red light to make sure nothing was coming before speeding through. Car mounting the pavement at speed to make a green light, failing, and just ploughing through anyway.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
For the day that’s in it. Perhaps not regarded as up there with his best work but the opening track, and particularly McCoy Tyner’s contribution to it, really is Out Of This World.
John Coltrane LP “Coltrane”
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Dermot Casey @dermotcasey.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The €1bn spent on fossil fuel sinces April would have put 8kw battery & solar on 100,000 homes buying them energy freedom for 20+ years. The €1bn+ that will be spent over the next few months would bring that to 250,000 homes. What we lack is will and vision
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uɐʅ∀ (𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚊𝚖) @alanbutler.info · 20/09/2026
Andrex toilet paper no longer uses normal maps.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Heard this in a bar last night and now it’s top of the list of records I must own. Peak soukous. m.youtube.com/watch?v=9RKj...
m.youtube.com
Zitany Neil - Marcory Gasoil (audio)
YouTube video by Syllart Records
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Really enjoyed the Shannon/Narducy REM love-in at Vicar Street tonight but it did really show up how poor their later music was in comparison to how sublime much of the earlier stuff was. That last song was just bad pub rock.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Finally got around to reading this. Has anyone ever written so eloquently about this kind of life from direct lived experience? The final payoff (redemption?) still has me reeling.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
How early do I need to be getting up to qualify for this support? Will there be some sort of cut-off time?
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Picked up for a mere 10 euros at the excellent Beat That records in Arklow yesterday. Outstanding stuff.
Tabu Ley Rochereau record
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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 26/08/2026
They disinvented the VCR. You might think that the reason we don't have VCRs anymore is because VCRs were supplanted by DVDs, PVRs and streaming, but that's not the case. They had it in for the VCR from the very start, and they never stopped trying to kill it. Eventually, they succeeded. 1/
A 1960s family living room in which a mom, dad and two kids are mesmerized by a cabinet-style TV. The image has been altered. The TV has an early 1990s VCR atop it. The TV screen is displaying a cross-sectioned human head with brains and spine on display. A huge fist has materialized in the room, with bloody spiked knuckle-dusters, smashing into the VCR. The oil painting over the sofa has been replaced with a pulp image of a male head, its cranium removed and replaced by a dome. Inside the dome is a red eight-segment VCR clock, displaying 12:00. The background in the painting is a tangle of cassette tape. The whole image's colors have been boosted, giving it an overexposed look.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Goat in Liverpool in 2014. Long exposure with a 4x5 film camera. One of my favourite photos from a big project I was working on back then.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Goat in the Button Factory tonight. Absolutely phenomenal.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Down a research rabbit hole reading about manifestos. I’m quite tickled to learn that over the 12 issues of Guy Debord’s Situationist International journal, himself and his collaborators insulted a grand total of 540 people. Those guys would have loved Twitter.
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Dr. Elinor Carmi @elinorcarmi.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Private schools in the UK have banned smart glasses because they realised it can harm their students, teachers and visitors. Universities should also adopt this approach and fast. www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...
telegraph.co.uk
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
This is great advice.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
RIP Frank Beard. Amazing band and I regret that I never got to see them. One that got away for sure
Tres Hombres by ZZ Top
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
See also Possession which by the clever use of drab-as-fuck colour grading manages to make Jamaica (of all places) look like Mullingar.
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Simon McGarr @tupped.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
New Gist: Ireland's Biometric Laundromat Ireland quietly passed a law in July potentially undermining every EU citizen's protections against law enforcement use of biometrics. Jim O'Callaghan's Irish 'biometric analysis' wheeze has gone international. www.thegist.ie/the-gist-ire...
thegist.ie
The Gist: Ireland's Biometric Laundromat
Ireland quietly passed a law in July potentially undermining every EU citizen's protections against law enforcement use of biometrics. This is the Gist.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I know it’s a cliche but kids do grow up fast. A few years ago I was bringing her to camogie practice and tonight she’s messaging me from a cocktail bar in Shanghai where they prepare drinks for you based on a Chinese medicine diagnosis. And also provide lifestyle advice.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
What’s the story with these things? Legit? No name of org on it … #speirgorm
Flyer for clothing collection
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Nice to see the brilliant Isabel Nolan getting bigged up in The Guardian www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
Copernicus! Tony Soprano! The inventor of the semicolon! The heroic obsessions of artist Isabel Nolan
Ireland’s artist at the Venice Biennale steals religious imagery for her secular celebrations of scientists and humanists, including an Italian punctuation master – and even TV’s famous mobster
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Petition to try and stop An Post moving postal collection services out of Dublin 8: my.uplift.ie/petitions/sa... @uplift.ie
my.uplift.ie
Save Our Postal Depots!
Local communities rely on An Post to deliver accessible services. Currently, there are three Delivery Service Units (DSUs) in Dublin South Central, located at Dolphin's Barn, Crumlin, and Ballyfermot...
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Áine Mc Caul ✍🏼 @ainemccaul.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
I've set up a fundraiser to help stock my kid's school with new library books. These aren't text books but books the children can read for pleasure. Maybe you aren't in a position to donate right now but, if not, could you please help by sharing? Thank you! #speirgorm #BookSky gofund.me/55e46e8ca
gofund.me
Donate to Buy a book for St. Brigid's N.S. Glenmakee, organized by Aine Mullan
Hi, we are asking for your help to buy one new reading book for every child a… Aine Mullan needs your support for Buy a book for St. Brigid's N.S. Glenmakee
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Has anyone seen The Odyssey? Any good?
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Relearning how to play 36 Guided By Voices songs for Friday night VBP jam. First one in several years. My fingers will hurt and I’ll probably have a hangover the next day but it’ll be worth it.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Nice view from the top floor of our fabulous new library just opened on Grangegorman campus #tudublin
View from new TU Dublin library building
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Probably Tenet. Not getting burned like that again.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Berlin (not been there in some time though) Barcelona (always delivers) New York (obviously) Hong Kong (just back, loved it) Stuck for a definite fifth: Valencia, Florence, Bologna, Cordoba or Marrakesh.
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Patrick Bresnihan @pbresnihan.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Meta's data centre in Clonee, Co Meath uses approx 571 megalitres a year, with usage increasing in hot periods. This is roughly twice the total water that a nearby town like Dunboyne (8000 ppl) would use in a year.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Still sounds like a load of bollox to me www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ju...
theguardian.com
‘An absolute triumph’: first reactions to Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey are ectastic
Following the film’s premiere, critics are already calling the historical epic a best picture Oscar contender. Here’s what they had to say
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
This is Paul - aka Vinyl Hero- proprietor of Hong Kong’s most unusual record shop. It’s on the 5th floor of a residential apartment building and after you are buzzed in you encounter Paul and his collection of thousands of records, all for sale. A fun experience indeed #records #hongkong #vinylhero
Paul aka Vinyl Hero posing with some records in his shop
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I’ll be on airplane tomorrow while the England vs DR Congo game is happening so blasting this absolute classic now in expectation. Viva la musica!
Amazing Congolese soukous record by Papa Wemba
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Tragically I don’t seem to have any records from Ghana. Must fix that.
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Carl Wilson @carlzoilus.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
I'm part of the very specific fragment of the population for whom this image is the best joke of the week.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Kids - don’t let your Dad throw out those late 80s/early 90s “grunge” records that are languishing in his attic. Some folks paying big money for original pressings these days.
Discogs listings for grunge records
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Andromeda Yelton @thatandromeda.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
At a World Cup watch party / street festival / Afro-Caribbean local-business market watching a guy in a kilt chat with a Morocco fan, eating something delicious and fried from an Ethiopian food stall on Juneteenth, and, despite everything, this is a great country.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
It seems to me you’re either a High On Fire person or an OM person and that’s going to dictate your attitude towards the new version of Sleep.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
I had a dream last night that I was casually hanging out with Bob Dylan, Robert Smith and Gary Numan in a Dublin pub. Bob took out pencil and paper and sketched a portrait of me but it looked exactly like Bob Dylan. Im not sure what to make of this.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
I’ve decided that every time an African nation hold a major European football power to a draw I’ll be celebrating by listening to a record from said nation. This time it’s DR Congo’s turn. Incroyable!
Lp by Franco and Tabu Ley
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Well done to UCC. Hopefully @tudublin.bsky.social will do this too.
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Seems like a good evening to dig out my compilation of dance music from Cameroon and CAPE VERDE.
African typic collection loAfrican typic collection lp
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Paul Sherratt @globaljukeboxer.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
@hughmacabre.bsky.social m.youtube.com/watch?v=OyEK...
m.youtube.com
diblo dibala et le groupe loketo - super k
YouTube video by JIMMY'S PRODUCTION
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
A few good gigs in Dublin tonight but I opted for Christy Moore and it was my first time seeing him since a gig in a coffee shop in Ranelagh some time in (I think) the early 90s. He was great. We’re lucky to have him.
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Kennys Bookshop & Art Gallery @kennysbookshop.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
A milestone. For the first time ever, we have surpassed 2 million books on our website. That is 2 million books available to you through an independent, online bookshop. With competitive shipping prices. Shop local. www.kennys.ie
2 million books on kennys.ie
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Deal with it, dude. Sounds like she was just bored having to talk to you and watch some sort of sportball at the same time.
irishtimes.com
‘An older man was chatting up my date, I’m humiliated and reluctant to let it go’
Tell Me About It: I actually thought we were in a relationship and I am reluctant to let it go
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Did a rough count and I think I’ve read 31 of these. But none of the top 10. www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...
theguardian.com
The 100 best novels of all time
The top 100 novels of all time published in English, as voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide. How many have you read?
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Eamonn Sweeney @sweeneyagonistes.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
My substack piece on the Irish media's great hunger to find our very own Nigel Farage. open.substack.com/pub/saturday...
open.substack.com
Are you right there Michael, are you hard right?
The Irish media's insatiable hunger for our very own Farage
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Spotted this in Limassol the other day.
Street Art: Wanted Poster for Netanyahu
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Don’t regret splashing out for this fancy audiophile version of a record I already own because it sounds amazing.
Fun House Stooges
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Hugh Macabre @hughmacabre.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Pictures of light. Murcia, April 2026.
Picture of lightPicture of lightPicture of lightPicture of light
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